…Says Nigeria Stands On The Threshold Of History
SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, (THEWILL) – The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, has solicited the support of the in-coming members of the National Assembly in the task before him, saying Nigeria stands at the threshold of history.
Buhari made the plea , Wednesday, while speaking at the induction of the new legislators of the National Assembly organised by the National Institute For Legislative Studies (NILS) in Abuja .
Speaking at the occasion, Buhari said: “I am very pleased to be here today as part of this induction programme and to address the elected Members of the 8th National Assembly. I heartily congratulate all of you for being found worthy to be elected by Nigeria’s citizens in a fair and transparent election process.
“I am delighted to say that we stand on the threshold of history. For the first time in our post independence history, power is going to be transferred from an incumbent ruling party to an opposition party. This is in spite of predictions of calamitous outcomes. Nigerians have indeed proven once again that they are a united people and stand resolute to protect its growing democracy.”
While acknowledging and lauding the maturity exhibited by the political class, the professionalism of the security agencies, the competence and resilience of INEC, as well as what he described as the doggedness of Nigerians and their commitment to ensuring that their wishes are represented and respected, Buhari said “ it is equally a victory for all political parties and their leaderships for according due respect to the electoral process and accepting the results in most cases.”
He specifically acknowledged the role played by President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting the results of the election before final announcement was made.
Maintaining that the legislature is a critical component and necessary ingredient of democracy and good governance, Buhari said the legislature by nature is inherently democratic in the sense that all members are equal and are elected representatives of the Nigerian people.
“As President-Elect, I recognise this fact and believe that legislators carry this heavy burden of representation with all the seriousness it deserves. For a president to be successful in addressing community development and general welfare of the various people of the country, he or she would benefit from working closely and in harmony with the legislative arm of government. I therefore commit myself to working with the legislature as development partners motivated by the desire to deliver good governance,” he said.
Drawing the attention of the elected Members of the 8th National Assembly to the challenges the country has been facing and will continue to face in the near future, the President-elect listed the daunting challenges to include: “General insecurity and insurgency that has caused extreme human hardship and destruction of lives, livelihoods that may take us over a decade to rebuild across most of North Eastern Nigeria and some parts of North western Nigeria. Devastation and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta area which must be attended to.
“Decline in revenues due to fall in oil prices which poses a threat to Government’s capacity to deliver on reconstruction of devastated areas and the new government development agenda. Endemic corruption which has crippled human and infrastructure development for decades.
“Unacceptably poor provision of power supply which has had a crippling effect on development of small businesses and indeed the wider economy. De-industrialisation for the past 3 decades leading to closure of many industries and migration of many to other African countries; Unacceptably high levels of unemployment and especially Youth Unemployment reaching over 40 percent;
“High cost of governance that has been crowding out capital and human development; Erosion of public social services such as infrastructure, health and education; and lack of development in the agricultural and solid mineral sectors.”
According to Buhari, “I see the challenges as the mission of my presidency,”adding “ I need the support of the Members of National Assembly on the battle front. I need your support in many respects.”
He said appropriate policies need to be put in place and such policies may have to be translated into laws.
“Secondly, the oversight functions of the legislature is critical in ensuring that policies are implemented effectively and transparently. Therefore, my mission to bring integrity into governance would better succeed if complemented with a strong culture of transparent oversight.
“Thirdly, we need to collaborate on the budget process and restructuring of the public sector so as to collectively tackle the menace of high recurrent cost at the expense of capital and human development.
“Fourthly, there is an urgent need to contain this high state of insecurity. All of you are representing various communities. We need to work together to address the problem from both its roots and manifestations. The strongest mitigating forces at this point are to redress the power sector deficits, encourage investments that are job creating and focus on human development and reconstruction. We also need to deploy efforts in conflict resolution and peace building in all our communities,” he added.
Buhari invited the in-coming lawmakers to work with the executive as partners in progress, as champions of good governance and development and as warriors for change, saying “Together, we can make this nation great and as a role model in Africa and other emerging economies and democracies.”
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